Shamshiri Confessions
by Misura
Summary: Tohma tells Shuichi the name of the person he loves. [YukiShuichi, Tohma?]


Shamshiri confessions

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Warnings/notes : Tohma/?, Yuki/Shuichi, slightly weird, slightly ooc?, shortie.

Disclaimer : I don't own Gravitation.

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Shuichi Shindou was not a person to be easily intimidated.

Perhaps this was an effect of living with Yuki Eiri, who tended to call him an 'untalented idiot' on good days, and much worse on bad ones. (It was a matter of speculation what Yuki called Shuichi during the nights, of course. Though those might make up for something.)

Perhaps, also, it came with Shuichi's cheerful nature, finding distraction or something funny in the oddest of things. The other side of the coin was that there were also a number of things that could make Shuichi sad to the point of bursting out in tears, but between sparkling with happiness and crying a river, there wasn't much emotional energy left to spend on feeling intimidated.

Still, standing in front of the door to Tohma Seguchi's office, Shuichi definitely felt -something-. Something a little bit like the feeling he got before a show, when he knew Yuki would be in the audience, watching him and listening to him.

Except that -that- feeling was kind of nice too, even if Yuki would always tell him he hadn't enjoyed the show one bit later, while -this- feeling wasn't nice at all.

"Come in."

Normal people would have needed to yell to make themselves audible through the wooden door. Tohma didn't. And he'd -known- Shuichi was standing out there too!

Shuichi licked his slightly dry lips and repeated his especially-for-this-occasion composed mantra ("My Yuki is mine and I love him!", which he had chosen over the original "My Yuki is mine and he loves me" after Hiro had reminded him that Yuki had never actually -said- so, had he? and that Tohma was sure to bring that up so maybe it was better not to make any assumptions about Yuki's affections at all.)

"Ah," said Tohma as Shuichi entered, which could have been interpreted in many different ways. None of them crossed Shuichi's mind however, since he was too busy repeating his mantra. (Hiro might have taken it as proof that Tohma hadn't known his visitor to be Shuichi after all and that his 'ah' should be taken as an abbreviated form of 'ah, it's you'. But Hiro wasn't there.)

"Sit." Had Shuichi been a little less, well, let's call it 'nervous' for the time being, he might have whipped out his dog-costume at that, to lighten up the mood a little. Unfortunately, he wasn't, so he sunk down in the first chair he saw, quietly wondering if the whole conversation was going to be waged in single word sentences.

"Tea?" It seemed to be. Shuichi shook his head. Cool. Smooth. Calm. Not like a Shuichi-who-was-afraid-his-voice-would-squeak-if-he-tried-to-speak, but like a ... like a -Yuki-. Yes! That was the perfect way to deal with this situation; to do what Yuki would have done.

Now, the first problem: would Yuki want tea? More precisely, would Yuki want Tohma's tea? Shuichi himself didn't really care for tea so ... he shook his head. Coolly. Smoothly. Calmly. His new mantra.

A cup of steaming tea was placed in front of him. Shuichi bit his lip, at a loss of what to do now. Yuki would have remarked he didn't want tea, sharply, and demanded of Tohma to remove it, Shuichi thought, but ...

With a sigh, Shuichi abandoned the idea of getting through this by acting like Yuki ("-My- Yuki is mine and I love him!") and cautiously took a sip from the tea. It didn't taste as bad as he'd feared.

"Pocky?" Shuichi managed not to gape at that. Barely. Of course, in theory, he realized that everyone -had- to love pocky, because it was wonderful and tasty and sugary and sweet and good and fabulous and the best food ever and just, well, -pocky-, but to find -Tohma Seguchi- having a box of strawberry pocky on his desk was still disconcerting.

Instinct fought with paralysis. Instinct won. Shuichi immediately felt lots better.

"I have been told strawberry was your favorite taste." It was neither a question nor a firm statement. It -was- a line containing more than one word, which was enough to make Shuichi pause 0.8 seconds before helping himself to another stick of pocky.

Shuichi nodded in answer. He'd have replied something along the lines of -his- Yuki having told Tohma that, except that his mouth was full.

Tohma leaned back in his chair to look at him for the first time since he'd entered. Shuichi abruptly wished he hadn't stuffed so much pocky in his mouth. It felt like a lump of ... something unpleasant as he swallowed it. (Later, perhaps, he'd look back and marvel over Tohma's ability to make him stop enjoying to eat pocky, yet another sure sign that Tohma Seguchi was not quite human.)

"You are, of course, wondering why you are here." Tohma really could read his mind! Well, kind of anyway, since Shuichi had actually stopped wondering about that a good half minute ago, in favor of contemplating whether or not it was safe to take another piece of pocky.

"There is a certain ... person I care about greatly." Shuichi opted to drink some more tea, promising himself he'd buy a box of pocky-with-extra-sugar later. He was sure he knew now that this conversation was going to be about Yuki, and that meant he had to be on the ready to defend his boyfriend.

"I would not want to see this person hurt or injured in any way," Tohma continued. Shuichi was beginning to feel just a tad bit angry; surely Tohma had to know that he, Shuichi Shindou, was more than capable of protecting Yuki?

Why couldn't Tohma just leave him and Yuki alone? Why did he always have to criticize Shuichi's best efforts to cheer Yuki up and talk to Yuki like he understood everything, knew everything about him?

"Though I don't use this word very often, I would even say that I -love- this person. Deeply." Shuichi sent Tohma his best imitation of a Yuki-glare, saying that he was an idiot. Not for being in love with Yuki, of course, because Shuichi was that too, but for presuming that being in love with Yuki gave him any right to invade Yuki's life as if he belonged there.

Shuichi lifted his cup of tea to his lips to prevent himself from blurting out what he was thinking. Yuki usually said that it was best to let fools talk until they ran out of air. (Yuki tended to add, under his breath, that such a thing never seemed to happen to Shuichi for some reason.)

"That very special person ... "

Shuichi froze in anticipation.

"... is ... "

Shuichi prepared to repeat his mantra aloud, to claim Yuki as -his-.

" ... my dear wife Mika."

Shuichi choked on his tea.

Tohma blinked. "Maybe you should have added some cream ... I think that tea's too strong for you."

"You ... you're in love with -Mika-san-?" Shuichi sputtered.

"I thought I just said that," Tohma replied. Calmly. Smoothly. Coolly. Sipping his tea-without-cream. "After all, I -married- her, did I not? In general, when people marry, they do so because they love one another."

"Yes, but ... " Shuichi began, uncertain of how to finish that sentence.

"Give my regards to your boyfriend when you see him again." Tohma swiveled his chair, turning away from Shuichi to go back to work as if he was alone in the office.

Which he was, ten seconds later.

And on the corner of his desk stood an empty box of pocky and a half-empty cup of shamshiri tea that had gone luke-warm.

OWARI

written at 16th july 2004, by Misura, in reply to a challenge made by Gangsta Videl which stated :

"Fandom: Gravitation  
Title: Shamshiri Confessions  
Pairing: Tohma/Mika -HA for canon-  
Line: "...I think that tea's too strong for you." "

Note : I've been told 'shamshiri' is some sort of tea. Hence, apparently, the title.

Second note : What's -supposed- to be taking place is that Tohma tells Shuichi he's all right with him and Yuki being together, without actually -saying- that. I'm not sure if it turned out like that but ... that was the original plan.


End file.
